innocent bystander

Can anyone advise on useful things to get done whilst on a validation trip. Validating in less than two weeks and hoping to move out for good within 6months.

innocent bystander

oops I appear to have posted this twice..... sorry

kevinbloomfield

I would like to know this as well, validating on 8th November

marco121068

We basically drove around for pretty much the whole time we were there - just seeing what's what and where we'd like to live.

Ended up buying a block of land the day before we flew back!

Opening a bank account if you don't already have one isn't a bad idea, especially if you can get set up with Internet Banking.

steve-n-jo

Well you can apply for your Tax File Number on line if you can get on-line.

Look at schools in the suburbs you want to be in. Most will be happy to show you around. Remember there is usually kindy, primary, middle and High schools in each suburb so theres lots to choose from.

If you are hiring a car, check out the surburbs at different times of day and night.

Buy the local paper on Saturday and look in the Real Eastate Section under Open inspections for the suburbs you want to be in and go and look at some houses.

Buy a Gregorys or UBD map so you can get around.

If you are going to use the Commonwealth Bank, contact their Relationship Manager for New Arrivals so you can activate your bank account on your arrival. Theycan arrange for all your cards to be there when you turn up, tho it might be cutting it a bit fine now.

again get the paper on Wednesday or Saturday, Career One the job section is in both those days.

Have a look at car yards, there are plenty about or just go on www.tradingpost.com.au It will give you an idea of what you want. Don't forget you have to add Stamp Duty if you are buying a used car. We paid $881 on a $23,000 car. You also have to pay for the Registration as well. 3, 6, 9 or 12 months.

check to see if there a plenty of Doctors, Dentist etc in the area you want to live in. you do not have to register with a doctor but can visit anyone you please. Also register for Medicare if you have an address you can register from, saves doing it later on.

Look at Caravan or holiday parks if you are planning on staying in one when you first get here, most will let you use their address to register for stuff when you first get in.

above all, soak up the atmosphere and have fun

Jo

PS where are you heading

Nicstids

Depends really on whether you have a good idea of where you want to settle.
We knew the town but didn't know anything about the areas. Bought a street map before we got there, had a look at properties that we liked the look of online and worked out which suburbs looked possible.

Although people on this site have slagged off estate agents in Aus, I contacted one before we went and he couldn't have been more helpful. We gave him our wish list and he drove us round areas he thought we would like and we drew up a shortlist of houses we wanted to view. Thanks to him we now know where we want to buy. That also gave us an idea of the schools to look at. We went round 4 or 5 and have already picked one for our son.

We took CVs (and copies of certificates) with us and registered with an employment agency. Result for me as I had 2 interviews in a week and was offered a job

We picked up bumpf from Centrelink about Rent allowance (can't remember the actual name of it) and went into the Queensland Transport Office to pick up their equivalent of the Highway Code.

We had already opened a bank account with HSBC from the UK - wasn't too hard.....

Hope that helps

Shelley29

Thanks for all the advice, we're heading for Queensland and the Sunshine Coast, this is where we dream of living one day. We never really wanted to have to validate, but we've not been able to sell the house.

We came to Brisbane last year and just loved the area, as soon as we got back we applied for our visas these came in June of this year

P.S You can be sure of one thing, the atmosphere, sea, sun and fun will definitely be soaked up thoroughly

WacandJill

QUOTE:
We had already opened a bank account with HSBC from the UK - wasn't too hard.....

hsbc? Does that mean if you have a UK account with the NHBC then you dont need to open any other sort of bank account in Australia.
Sorry for being so thick!

Nicstids

No I'm afraid it wasn't quite that easy! HSBC in Aus is a different thing to HSBC in the UK. You need to contact their International Banking Centre in London - 0845 607 6706 and ask them to send you the account opening documentation. You have to fill in various forms and take them into your local HSBC branch so that they can certify everything. Send everything back to London with an AUD bank draft for $2000 - they send it off to Sydney and your account will be opened for you. We have an Online Savings Account as the charges are too high on a cheque account.

WacandJill

THANKS FOR THAT. I have copied it all down.
What sort of things do they need to certify - passports? etc.,
How much is 2,000AUD, and does it cost for this bank draft.
If its not a cheque account, do you get a card to get your money out?
Thanks for your info.

Nicstids

They need to countersign your application forms and certify various forms of ID. (Basically you need 100 points to be able to open an Aus bank a/c. A passport counts as 70, a driver's licence is 25 and then I think I used a Visa card which gave me 25 points too.)

Currently $2000 is £870. Once the account is opened though, there is no minimum balance so you can withdraw the money straightaway if you like! My bank First Direct charged me £10 for the draft.

Yes you get a card and you can withdraw up to $1000 daily. HSBC don't have many ATMs in Aus but you can use the Post Office to withdraw money and I think a lot of people withdraw money when they're shopping (EFTPOS - like cashback)

Hope that helps

WacandJill

Thanks for that, very helpful.
dont suppose there is any point in opening the account until we have heard about the visa - still waiting, waiting, waiting.
Jill

herrchook

NHBC? Isn't that something to do with New Build Insurance?

WacandJill

Sorry, typing error.
Should be HSBC Not NHBC.
National House Building Council - they dont let you withdraw money!!
Must check my typing in the future.
Sorry

herrchook

Just jesting.